View of Ollā's terrace, within the grounds of the Centre culturel et muséal de la Vieille Charité. CALLICLES
Ollā opened last spring inside the Old Charity Cultural Center and Museum. Tucked discreetly into a corner of the inner courtyard, the restaurant keeps a low profile, letting the remarkable ovoid-domed chapel at the center of the cloisters shine.
What was once a hospice is now home to all kinds of institutions: the Museum of Mediterranean Archaeology, the International Poetry Center of Marseille, the National Centre for Scientific Research, as well as a cinema and temporary exhibitions.
This patchwork mirrors the diverse identity of Ollā itself. Between fresh pasta imported from Genoa, arepas (stuffed South American corn cakes), Hungarian lángos (fried bread), and alouettes sans tête (a classic Provençal dish of stuffed beef rolls), Ollā's chef Andréa Flores chose not to choose. At BāM – short for bar à manger ("a bar for eating") – her first venture in Marseille's Joliette neighborhood, north of the Vieux-Port, the French-Brazilian had already been serving an eclectic style of cooking for six years.
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